


Tiny Tales of Turtles

by INerdMuch



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Fluff, calm little things of each of them, not shipping cause that's disgusting, they're brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-28 21:10:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16730685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INerdMuch/pseuds/INerdMuch
Summary: No more than a thousand words, no less than five hundred each. Short little shots of our favourite brothers, just relaxing.





	1. Donatello, Sleep (1)

Humming and whirring built a comforting background. Blue light spilled like water filled with bioluminescent fish, illuminating a room of jagged shadows and sparking machines. The click and scratch of a pencil on paper gave away the only movement in the room. Next to a tired arm was a half empty, cold, and black cup of coffee. It had been long forgotten, if the thin film of dust on the surface was anything to go by; which it was. A creak from the sewer grate caught the occupant's attention. Fat flakes of falling snow drifted lethargically by.

Donnie glanced up, and back down. He hadn't slept; but that was unimportant. He'd nearly finished his design. Whilst his other brothers tended to roughhouse with one another, he would always have to sit out. Not anymore. He'd designed a thin covering for his soft shell and it was genius. Standing up, he began to pull materials toward him. Finally, he would truly be able to relax without having to worry over his stupid shell.

Donnie hated his shell. It was common for soft-shell turtles to get shell rot, or worse, ripped shells. It meant hat he was weak, and he cared too much to not do something about this. He had researched the types of turtles his brothers were, and knew what each of them needed.

Like why Leon had red stripes on his face.

Like how Michael could retract into his shell.

Like where Raph's strong jaws had issues with clamping down too hard.

Sometimes, he felt, he knew too much about his brothers. It made him worry that one day, Michael could crack his shell and lose his life, or that Raph could easily get caught on someone's clothing and get exposed, or even the possibility of Leon drying out.

He pushed away those thoughts. He didn't need them. The shell was starting to take shape, and he could already imagine the confines of comfort he had designed. So he wrapped up he became, he didn't notice the opening of the door behind him.

"You haven't gone to bed." Donnie didn't deign to respond. Raph sighed heavily. "What are you even doing?"

"I'm building a regular wear shell. So I don't get hurt, and can actually spar without using my heavy battle shell."

Because he heard no response, Donnie did not expect to be picked up. Less did he expect for Raph to carry him straight out of the lab like a child. His feeble struggles went unnoticed by the behemoth of a mutant, until they reached the common room. The heating lamp was switched on, and Raph plonked himself down right beneath it.

"Raph! I'm in the middle of something, let me go! Raph!"

"Relax, it's not like it has to be done now," shifting, Raph felt Donnie curl up appreciatively. "And anyway, you really just need some sleep, not a stupid shell. And you didn't even take off your battle shell anyway, so you really need some chill time."

With two clicks, the armour fell to the ground, and a sigh of relief was heard. Donnie felt his eyes closing, and shrugged off the tech. The feeling of warm air on his bare shell was wonderful. Absently, he felt Raph begin to pet his head. Maybe a nap was slightly necessary.

He was asleep in seconds.


	2. Donatello, Sleep (2)

The kitchen was cold. No one else was awake, so that wasn't much of a surprise. A shiver wracked his body, and the urge to turn on the radiator nearly overwhelmed him. Small tremors emanated from the fridge, a problem that had yet to be fixed. He'd have to look at that soon, or it would bug him for ages. The radio was pouring out some dance ballad, piano notes sweet and pure. It was quiet, however, as there was no need to wake anyone.

That's what Donnie knows. At least, he thought he knew. He dipped his tired head, and rubbed at his burning eyes. What was the time? The clock read one, but it didn't show whether it was morning or evening. His back felt like an anvil was strapped to it instead of a simple shell. Not to mention his aching feet. He felt like dying. One more coffee, and he would feel better. One more, and he'd get back to work.

The kettle gave a muted squeal. The tinny sound drilled into him. Donnie gently poured it into his mug. His mug was purple, with sharpie smiley faces drawn on it. It had a chip in the rim, and the handle was glued together. It worked well enough. Two sugars, one spoon of instant coffee, and lots of milk. The perfect coffee concoction, with added caffeine. He'd made the recipe himself, and ground it into granules. He hid it in the bottom cupboard where no one, not even Splinter, could set their hands on it.

"Hey, Don," Leo said from he table, startling the scientist. He turned and glared at his younger 'twin'. Leo grinned back.

"What do you want, Leon." A brief flash of hurt, smoothly concealed by a bored expression.

"I want you to go to bed. Or at least to sleep in the lab. I don't care, really, but you have to sleep." Leo stared at his hands. The music on the radio swelled slightly, and fell back. "It's late, Donatello."

"I know it's late but I'm nearly done, Leon." The justification fell flat. Donnie sat down, and lifted his mug. With a flash of blue light, it had been teleported to the sink in a series of complicated sword twirls. The coffee fell down the drain in a sluggish, pale slop. Affronted, Donnie turned to yell angrily at his brother.

"If you won't go to sleep, I'll make you," Leo warned, a smile tugging at his lips.

"That was hard to make Leon! You-"

"I don't care!" Slamming his fists on the table, Leo glared at him. "Bed! Now, Mister, or I will wake Raph to carry you there."

Appalled, Donnie turned up his nose.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"No!"

"Yes!" Donnie stood up, looking smug. "I'm going to bed and you can't- oh. That was your plan all along, wasn't it."

Leo smirked.

"Fine. But you have to sleep too."

With a nod, they both left to go to their bedrooms. The radio played on.


End file.
